The Surien Series Blood Guardian (15 page)

“Where are we?” Daire asked, still trying to adjust to his sudden change in surroundings. They were standing in front of a large door at the top of a stairway. Both door and stairway were made entirely of white marble with a beautiful silver inlay, the intricate design was delicate and flowing, like a lullaby.

“We have come to ask the fates about Meissen,” Athena replied, as she opened the door with a wave of her hand. On the other side of the door was a large courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard stood three beautiful women, all dressed in white.

“Come, we have been waiting for you,” one of the women said.

“I thought the fates were supposed to be three ugly old hags,” Daire whispered to Athena.

“A viscous lie, born of jealousy no doubt,” another of the fates retorted.

As they approached the three women, Daire couldn't help but notice that they were floating a few inches above the ground. They were very similar in appearance, but not identical.

“I am Lachesis,” the woman in the middle said, “and these are my sisters, Atropos and Clotho.” Lachesis had wavy brown hair and beautiful brown eyes whereas Atropos, who was standing to the left, had straight hair as black as onyx and emerald green eyes so cold it was scary. Clotho on the other hand had a much warmer, more approachable appearance. She had curly golden blond hair and beautiful blue eyes.

“Ask your question or be gone,” Atropos ordered.

“Why must you always be so cruel?”

“Cruelty is in her nature Clotho, just as kindness is in yours,” Lachesis reminded her.

“And what is your nature?” Daire asked.

“I am here for balance,” she answered. “Ask me what you wish but be forewarned, the answers I provide may not be what you hope for.”

“I want to know if Symarah is Meissen,” Daire stated.

“It is true, they share the same soul,” Lachesis answered.

“How is that possible?” Daire asked.

“We brought her back.”

“Why would you choose to end her life only to bring her back again and again? It is beyond cruel,” Daire admonished.

“When Atlantis sank at the hands of the gods, it was Atropos who chose to cut their life thread short,” Lachesis replied.

“Who the hell are you to make that kind of decision?” Daire was outraged.

“I am the inevitable one, I choose when a life is to end,” Atropos said in a tone that was as deadly as her eyes were cold.

“Was it your cruelty that brought her back as well?” Daire asked in a contemptuous tone.

“It is Clotho that brings them back, for she is the spinner of life, she decides when life begins,” Lachesis said.

“I thought it unfair for the humans to die for the sins of a handful of corrupt Atlantean gods. They died and you suffer for something that was beyond your control. I bring them back so that they may find their soul mate and be reunited once again,” Clotho explained.

“Then why have I not found her till now?” Daire demanded.

“I have no control over such things.” Clotho smiled warmly. “It is Lachesis who decides a man’s destiny.”

“Why do you allow them to live entire lives without finding their soul mate? Why not just lead them straight to us?” Daire asked Lachesis.

“It is true, I determine a man's destiny, but I cannot control his actions, free will prevents it. I can lead him in the right direction, but if he takes the wrong path there is nothing I can do. It takes many lifetimes to fulfill a destiny, not just one.”

“What happens when they finally find their soul mate?” Athena questioned.

“They are destined to die, one last time,” Atropos answered coldly.

“That is their gift,” Clotho smiled.

“How the hell can you consider death a gift?” Daire growled in frustration.

“You will understand everything in due time,” Lachesis said calmly.

“Enough with the cryptic bullshit, I understand perfectly, the three of you are twisted and sick, sitting up here playing with people’s lives.”

Athena placed her hand on Daire's shoulder, and in an instant they were back in Symarah's living room.

“Why the hell did you do that? I wasn't done with them!” Daire yelled.

“The fates are not to be trifled with, nor am I, in case you had forgotten, so I suggest you lighten your tone and remember who you are talking to, Atlantean,” Athena warned.

“I'm sorry goddess,” Daire apologized.

“I understand your frustration Daire, but angering the fates is not wise.”

“I know, you're right, but it's just so damn frustrating. I finally find her and now she is destined to die again. How is that a gift?”

“I think it wise for you to stay away from the girl, allow Jareth to protect her, and once Vaiden is gone, if you care for her, I think it best for you to leave and let her live her life,” Athena advised.

Daire knew she was right, if he stayed Symarah was destined to die, but if he left her alone she could live her life in peace.

“I must go, but please consider my advice, it will be easier on the both of you in the long run.” Athena smiled sympathetically and then disappeared.

Daire was devastated; he finally had Meissen back, and the only way to keep her safe was to never see her again. With a heavy heart, he headed toward the guest rooms in the lower level to get some much needed sleep.

“Ouch,” Symarah groused, as she landed on her ass in the middle of the training room floor.

“You have to learn to anticipate your opponent's next move, try it again,” Jareth said.

“Not again, we've been training for three hours and I'm starving,” she whined.

“The pizza will be here any minute, we can stop then,” Jareth told her.

“Fine,” she said, getting up and preparing herself for his next attack. She hadn't been at all surprised to find out that he already had a full gym in the lower level of his house. She had been concerned about pulling this off without Daire being suspicious, but since he was still avoiding her, it was surprisingly easy. In fact, he had actually seemed relieved when she suggested that Jareth go with her to the gym. She had told him that she was very stressed out, never knowing when Vaiden would attack next and that she thought spending some time at the gym would help her blow off some steam and ease her anxiety. It wasn't that far from the truth.

“Have I mentioned OUCH!?” Symarah said, looking up at Jareth from the floor for the hundredth time tonight.

“You have to pay attention, watch me closely and you can predict my next move.”

“I am, I've been watching your eyes all night.”

“Eyes can deceive, you need to watch my body. Every man has certain tells that give him away, you just need to learn what they are.” After a few more attacks, she was starting to be able to dodge his blows.

“See, now that you're not watching my eyes, you're a natural at this,” Jareth encouraged. “Now I want you to concentrate on my thoughts instead of my actions.”

“How can I concentrate on thoughts, I'm not a mind reader.”

“I beg to differ, you have called to Daire many times with your mind.”

“He's a god, that's the only reason he heard me,” Symarah argued.

“Only a god can enter the mind of another god, no human has that ability. Clearly you have the ability to communicate with your mind, which means you should be able to sense what other people are thinking as well. If you can hone this skill, you have a good chance at defending yourself against an unden and you might even be able to fight off a demmic long enough to call for Daire or myself.”

“Why can't I just watch for their next move, you said I'm a natural,” Symarah complained.

“As I said before, every man has a tell; the unden have a tell because they are human, but demmic do not because they are gods. Without being able to sense a demmic's next move you haven’t got a chance in hell of keeping yourself alive until help arrives; now concentrate.”

She tried concentrating, but just barely missed being hit by Jareth's right hook.

“You're not concentrating hard enough, close your eyes, and really concentrate on my thoughts.”

“How the hell am I gonna dodge your blows if my eyes are closed?”

“Simply dodging the attack is not good enough, I want you to be able to stop me in mid strike and implement a counter attack. Close your eyes, clear your mind and concentrate all your energy on my thoughts.”

Symarah reluctantly closed her eyes and focused all her concentration on Jareth. She felt ridiculous and was one hundred percent sure that she was about to end up on her ass again, but then she saw in her mind’s eye an image of Jareth's foot coming right at her head. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed his ankle a split second before his foot made contact. She opened her eyes and was shocked to see that she had indeed stopped him in mid attack.

“Good, now I want you to not only stop my attack but counter with your own attack.” He had just barely finished his sentence when the doorbell rang.

“Pizza, I'll get it!” Symarah exclaimed.

“It could be a trap, I'll get it; you wait in the dining area,” Jareth said as he walked off in the direction of the front door.

“Fine,” Symarah huffed, heading toward the dining room.

“What was Atlantis like?” Symarah asked, after scarfing down about three or four slices of pizza.

“It's a magical place, absolutely beautiful. The structures are made of pure white marble and the landscape is quite colorful, with the most beautiful flowers I've ever known. There are many bodies of water within the barrier walls. Some are lakes, surrounded by weeping willow trees and some are beaches with the whitest sand you can imagine.”

“And the water, what was it like?”

“You have it, around your neck,” Jareth pointed to the necklace she had gotten from Noumeina. Daire had given it back to her after he returned from speaking with the shauri.

“What do you mean?” she asked, lifting the pendant from where it rested on her chest and looking at it intently.

“Daire gave that necklace to Meissen the day she turned twenty-three. She loved the ocean so much that he fashioned a four-point star out of clear crystal and filled it with ocean water from her favorite beach at the far eastern side of the island. She cried when he gave it to her, it was her most prized possession.”

“Tell me about her, what was she like?”

“Meissen was his first and only love. She was kind and generous, filled with passion and joy. She was also very independent and stubborn, much like you.” Jareth smiled. “They were to be married on the winter solstice, December 21
st
. It would have been her 25
th
birthday.”

“You speak of her with such fondness.”

“We were all very close, she and Illiana were inseparable.”

“Illiana?” Symarah questioned.

“Illiana was my wife,” Jareth answered. “I was able to save her before Atlantis sank but she was devastated by the loss of Meissen.”

“So how's your pizza?” Symarah said, sensing that Jareth needed a change of subject.

“So let me get this straight, you and I know that Symarah is training with Jareth to fight the unden and demmic, but Daire and Conner don't. You and I know that when the work crew isn’t here, you are using your magic shop to practice magic because you are a witch, but Jareth, Daire, Conner and Symarah don't, and you overheard Daire and Jareth telling Athena that Symarah is Daire's dead fiancée reincarnated, but Conner and Symarah don't know that either; is that about right?” Duncan asked.

“You got it babe,” Kassie replied.

“My brother really is out of the loop.”

“Yeah, poor Conner has no clue what's going on.”

“Are you going to tell Symarah about the whole dead fiancée, soul mate thing?”

“I don't think so, losing him is going to be hard enough on her, it would only make it worse if she knew.”

“That's understandable but what I don't get is why you haven't told her that you are a witch. She is your best friend, you tell her everything.”

“I'm not sure she can handle much more. I guess I'm just scared, I don't want to ruin our friendship.”

“You two are too close for anything to ruin it. I think you should tell her.”

“I will, I promise. I'd just like to wait till things settle down a little.”

“What happens when Vaiden attacks and you have to use your magic to protect her? I think she may notice.” Duncan smiled.

“I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but if it does, hopefully she'll be so grateful that I saved her she will overlook the rest. And on that note, we should get back to work. I've got a lot of training to do if I'm going to be ready by the wedding, it's my sister’s special day, and I won't have it ruined.”

“When exactly is the wedding? Duncan asked.

“It's in one month and time is short, so let's get back to work,” she replied as she whipped a pillow at his head with just the wave of her hand. She had been practicing her magic at the new shop every day for about two weeks now. The apartment portion was finished, so the work crew stayed downstairs, while she practiced upstairs in private. Duncan was amazed at how quickly she was learning her craft and how powerful she was.

“Okay, I'm going to try putting up a protective shield around you and then I'll throw this tennis ball at you and see if it gets through or not.” Kassie pointed her first two fingers on each hand at Duncan and made a circular motion, as she chanted the spell:

“Once inside these circles three, none shall pass, no harm befalls thee.” She picked up the ball and tossed it at Duncan, hoping for the best. The ball hit an invisible wall about three feet in front of him and bounced off in the opposite direction. “Yes, I did it!” Kassie squealed in delight.

“I knew you could do it,” Duncan told her.

“Really?”

“There was never a doubt in my mind,” he winked at her.

“All is well, the danger has passed. Reverse this spell that I have cast,” Kassie chanted the reversal spell, as she walked toward him. “It means the world to me that you believe in me,” she said, as she placed her hand on his cheek. She leaned in and pressed her lips gently against his.